Ground Transmission Inspection Optimization
R&A served as a consulting partner for an Investor-Owned Utility to assess aspects of its Ground Transmission and Substation Inspections Programs.
Situation
The client needed to focus on operational improvements in its inspection program, which was being directed and controlled across various stakeholder groups. This presented inconsistent applications related to governance including data quality, data accessibility, and a fragmented technology landscape and capabilities.
Objective
Assess current state governance for Transmission and Substation inspection programs to understand and document interaction of stakeholders and identify themes and pain points. Develop a governance model that supports and maintains the highest quality execution of the program.
Solution
Assessed Current State and Identify Capability Gaps: Developed current state governance built around PMI’s 5 management process groups. Decomposed critical functional roles and detailed policies, people, processes, and technology that enable execution of regulatory and corporate requirements.
Conducted Focused Benchmarking Exercise: Facilitated collaboration workshops between west coast IOUs to explore opportunities to better govern and optimize their inspections programs. Takeaways included utilizing more robust visual inspection techniques and enhancing inspection methods to better identify risk and support operational and financial objectives.
Outline Solution Vision and Roadmap: Provided line-item report documenting identifying operations improvement activities within near-term and long-term objectives and additional targets to achieve future state solution across business lines, cross-organizational functions, and enterprise.
Define Future State Resourcing Models: Documented future state resource and technology plans that aligned to close governance and efficiency gaps, while supporting future budgets and moving to digital tools
Results
Client understands the critical gaps in people, process, and technology that would inhibit optimization of its inspections program.
Developed of Transmission and Substation Resource Models, Digitization Reports, and Opportunity Improvement Roadmaps.
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Client understands the roles and responsibilities required of people groups across upstream, core, and downstream to enable execution of regulatory and corporate requirements.
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Client has next steps for 2024 solution development and pilot plans to understand value and inject ahead of 2025 operations.
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Client has identified opportunities to better leverage its technology asset inventory to optimize workflow.
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Client has tactical next steps to working towards a structured centralization of inspections activities to increase inspection quality and resource utilization and decrease compliance and liability risk.
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Client has developed socialization schedule and objectives with internal enabling stakeholders to understand feasibility and align on value propositions and next steps.